Transportation of a medical patient is common during emergency situations. Typically, an adult patient is attached to a stretcher during transportation, either by ground or by air. Most stretchers have a collapsible structure with wheels to enable moving the patient smoothly between locations. Furthermore, it is important to keep the patient secure and stable during the transportation between locations.
Sometimes the patient is positioned on or in an additional medical unit, and the medical unit itself is attached to a stretcher for transportation. Additionally, the medical unit may be attached directly to a transport, either ground or air. For example, an infant who requires a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) must remain inside the NICU while being transported to a different location. Similar to the typical adult situation, such medical units should be securely attached to the transport stretcher. Currently, it is common for medical units to be strapped to a stretcher, using a harness or other similar device. A harness must be fitted through attachment points along the medical unit and then tied or otherwise secured to the stretcher. However, during emergency situations the amount of time spent transporting a patient is critical. Reducing the time necessary to secure a medical unit to a transport, or to release it, increases the efficiency of receiving medical attention. Further, various harness systems fail to fully secure medical units to transports. Therefore, there is a need for a system and method of quickly and securely attaching a medical unit to a transport.